Atv usage in state parks-argumenative essay
...ssential to the survival of an ecosystem. According to Off the Track: Americas National Parks under Siege when entering waterways, Off Road Vehicles dump up to 30 percent of their unburned fuel into the water. This destroys the habitats for aquatic species and harms species that depend on aquatic resources. ATV and snowmobile manufacturers should come up with a plan to create less polluting machines. Also, there is a large amount of noise from their engines which scares the wildlife and often makes it hard for them to hear and may permanently damage their ear drums. If they can’t hear how can they escape from other animals? Another problem that results from the high noise levels is that it disrupts food gathering, migration, and bioenergetics for wolves, rabbits, bear, coyotes, deer, and elk. ATV’s and snowmobiles are the root of most harm done to the delicate ecosystems of the Adirondack park region. One of the biggest problems in my eyes is that they create easy access to wilderness areas where unsupervised people can do optimal harm to the environment .They may crush plant life that may have taken over one hundred years to mature. Also, Off Road Vehicles can crush small animals that live on the surface or in shallow burrows. Soil has an extremely complex community of living organisms such as small animals. These communities are sometimes very fragile and can take centuries to be recreated. Off Road Vehicle usage also speeds up the process of erosion. ATV riders claim that ATV’s don’t cause the damage, the lack of maintenance does. I don’t believe that this is true. The ATV’s cause the ruts that cause the erosion. Weeds and exotic invasive plant species such as Purple Loosestrife and Japanese Knotweed are spread through the usage of ATV’s. The seeds get stuck in the tread of the tires of ATVs and other Off Road Vehicles which then spreads the seeds to areas where they are not a native species. Invasive plant species destroy the ecosystem by taking the place of native and rare species. ATV and snowmobile users destroy the serenity of the Adirondack Park region. They are very noisy and intrusive for other users. They disturb hi...